1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns packages for transporting breakable vials of liquids that are possibly hazardous, e.g., diagnostic specimens, etiologic specimens, and fine chemicals. More specifically, the invention is concerned with containing liquids accidentally released from a vial through breakage or leaking as well as preventing the liquid from contaminating other vials in the package, thus safeguarding persons who handle the package or the vials.
In the art, a breakable vial is generally called a "primary container," and a package for a plurality of primary containers is generally called a "secondary container." Below, a secondary container is sometimes called a "shipping container."
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, a significant portion of medical specimens are transported from laboratories and medical centers to large diagnostic centers for analyses. The diagnostic specimens (e.g., blood) typically are transported in breakable primary containers such as test tubes, syringes, and vials which in turn are packaged in secondary or shipping containers that cushion the primary containers against shock. Even so, leakage or breakage frequently occurs, and because of the possibly hazardous nature of the liquids, the secondary containers should be designed to contain the liquids so that the liquid cannot contaminate other primary containers in the package or be released to the environment.
Diagnostic specimens typically are transported in a secondary container, e.g., molded styrofoam, that has a pocket for each primary container. For example, see a 3-tube, blood sample mailer (stock No. 193-508) from Curtin Matheson Scientific Inc. When a primary container is significantly smaller than its pocket, it may be wrapped in tissue or toweling to make it fit more snugly, and the packing material may be able to absorb or adsorb liquid released by a broken or leaking primary container. However, any sorbent protection that such a sheet may afford is haphazard and gives no assurance against injury to handlers.
Even when a shipping container arrives at a diagnostic center without damage, there is a need to minimize the hazard that upon being opened, a primary container might fall out of the shipping container and break. A certain amount of carelessness can be expected whenever persons are handling large numbers of containers on a routine, daily basis.
When the layout for the primary containers within any such secondary container is specifically designed or configured for one laboratory, the utility of the secondary container may be significantly diminished for other laboratories that employ primary containers of different types, shapes, sizes or numbers. Accordingly, it can be expensive and difficult for vendors to supply customized containers for the special needs of every laboratory or group of laboratories. For one special design, see the secondary container of U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,547 (Taylor) that has tubular cavities for a number of test tubes plus a rectangular slide holder aperture. The Taylor secondary container is formed with a central recess through which leaking liquid should flow and an absorbent material filling that recess, the purpose of which is to absorb liquid before it can leak outside the secondary container. Another special multi-pocket design is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,994 (Brown).
When a breakable primary container contains a hazardous liquid, it typically is packaged by itself in a secondary container that may include sorptive material to prevent any liquid from accidentally leaking out of the container. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,999,653 (Haigh et al.); 4,560,069 (Simon); 4,573,578 (Greminger et al.); and 4,756,937 (Mentzer). While the secondary container of the Mentzer patent has only one pouch, the Mentzer patent says that more than one primary container can be transported in that pouch. The material of which the Mentzer secondary container is made entraps "an antidote" with which leaking liquid can react to produce a gel.
Other secondary containers that are formed with individual pockets for primary containers are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,146,929 (Keim) for jars of baby food; 3,871,521 (Szatkowski); and 4,173,286 (Stanko) for beverage cans.